I have no idea what is going on at UDM and why Vowels continues to be so incompetent and can’t figure out who to hire. The board and Garabaldi need to step in now. They can’t continue to let Vowels destroy UDM Athletic Programs.

I stated before, and will state again who the board (because Vowels is incompetent) should be looking at for the basketball job.

“Mann and Stevens would both be strong choices as our next head coach. They both know how to recruit and have been successful wherever they went and learned from some of the best coaches in the country. They will cost UDM similar amounts that BA was getting.”

“I hope Donnelly at UofD High is also under consideration. He has completely turned the UofD program into a powerhouse and knows how to get really good players into his program and kept the academic standards high. He would also turn around the mess at UDM and would do so at a much more favorable comp level.”

“I have no doubt that any of these three will fix the problems and get this program turned around. They will all recruit like crazy and know how to run a strong defensive focused team. They will get really strong assistant coaches and find players who the University and Alumni will be proud to call Titans.”

This current state of irresponsible incompetence must end now and we should hire one of these three this week. Plus get rid of Vowels and JJSr asap. They are major problems for UDM.

bctitans1987 wrote:Donnelly is not leaving UDJ. Why would he? To deal with a bunch of incompetent, politically-motivated administrators.

One thing is certain: Vowels will make another bad hire and will remain in place because the Board of Trustees and President are both incompetent...

Hiring Donnelly would be the worst hire in UD history. If you watch him coach a game he does nothing special. His sets and the flow of the game are nothing special in fact a little on the weak side. Like most of the private schools he recruits kids and plays against coaches and schools who do not recruit. When a kid transfers to a Private School he plays but if he transfers to a public school he must sit out. Point being the Clarkston- DeLaSalle debacle this year or Blackshear and McFolley a few years ago. DeLaSalle's coach Eisler is another guy that couldn't coach enough to get out of his own way. Back to Donnelly I hope Vowels is not foolish enough to offer to a guy that actually steers his players away from this University but if RV did offer I am thinking a guy making at best around 100,000 would grab an opportunity to make 350,000 and if successful maybe a million, unless in his heart he knows that on an even playing field he would be exposed as being weak.

Let’s be real here. The worst hire in UDM history was JJSr (thanks Vowels - the second worst hire in UDM history).

Clearly UP has no clue about basketball coaching. Getting Donnelly, Mann or Stevens would be an extremely favorable hire by UDM. The program would advance quickly and we would have high quality and high caliber leaders. Plus program integrity would be elevated to levels not seen in a long time at UDM. Also, the player recruitment would be at levels not seen at 6 & Livernois for years.

1) No matter which path we had taken, next season is/was going to be potentially very rough, at least at the start. A few days here or there during the hiring process is going to make ZERO difference next year. We MUST think long-term; we must get this hire right.2) Calling for Vowels head right now AND getting tired of waiting for a new head coach are opposing goals. If we fired Vowels tomorrow, the AD position always involves a Search Committee. It would take a couple weeks just to get the Search Committee together. We'd have a new AD in about 3 months (check how long it took the last time, guys). Then the new AD would have to acclimate to the University and its culture before being qualified to go after the right coach. That would take a few more months. We'd be lucky to have our new Head Coach by tipoff for the first Exhibition Game.3) How could you even consider Stephens right now? The LAST guy we need is someone under scrutiny, given all that's gone on in our Athletic Dept the last several years. We need someone of impeccable character who is beyond reproach. Someone with a strong internal compass with a squeaky clean reputation as well.4) If Donnelly was offered the job and turned it down, he'd be an idiot. Of course he'd take the job. Remember though that even PW needed two years as a U-M Assistant before getting a Head Coaching Position. And, if you're considering Donnelly, why not consider Ramsey Nichols? 5) I do hope that Mann has been considered for the job.

Taking 3-4 weeks to search for and hire a new coach after firing Bacari is a reasonable amount of time. From that length of time, it appears that JJ will not be the new head coach. This supports earlier posts made by titanmike on this subject.

I would rather take more time and make a good hire than rush to another questionable decision.

If Titans96 is talking about Brad Stevens, then I'm all for that hire. If he's talking about Dwayne Stephens, not so certain.

Of course, none of us know who are the candidates - especially since a lot of the rumors tweeted have been proven false, questionable, or made by people with agendas hiding behind anonymous Twitter handles.

I agree with nearly everything Tom posted, except this. Over the past two coaching searches, Ramsey's name has been mentioned sporadically. Why? I have no idea. Yes, he played at UofD. Is that all it takes? He's been only minimally successful as a high school coach. In fact, he took over a Kalamazoo Central program that Mike Thomas dominated the state with and hasn't sniffed the Breslin Center since.

I'd think anyone even suggesting his name should be in support of a Thomas hire, as he's a superior coach in a landslide... as proven by his resume.

For the record, Baller, I'm not advocating for Ramsey or any other high school coach. We shouldn't be considering anybody who hasn't had several years, at least, as a college assistant or Div I or II head coach.

I do believe that if/when we go with an outsider this time that he makes sure to bring in at least one local high school coach as an assistant.

uofdfan1983 wrote:For the record, Baller, I'm not advocating for Ramsey or any other high school coach. We shouldn't be considering anybody who hasn't had several years, at least, as a college assistant or Div I or II head coach.

I do believe that if/when we go with an outsider this time that he makes sure to bring in at least one local high school coach as an assistant.

I also want suggesting that you were advocating, Tom. I've seen Ramsey's name posted here several times by multiple people... and it always strikes me as strange being that I wouldn't consider him one of the 20 best high school coaches in the state.

As far as assistants go, I would definitely support a high school coach or even two added to the staff. That is where I thought BA really struck out in bringing in Kahler and Chatman.

Up - Please don't write about Pat "recruiting". You obviously know zero about UDJ. If you did, you would know that as AD at UDJ, Mickey Barrett got FIRED for athletic recruiting.

Cassius Winston was not recruited. His parents wanted to send him to one of (if not) the best school in the area (nothing against the other private schools). Cassius and his two brothers are excellent students.

UofD Jesuit is focused on academics. If that wasn't the case, they would not have spent $20M on a science and technology wing. Go see it. UDM has NOTHING even close to the four-story beauty that UDJ built. Let's not get started on Brother Rice, CC and DeLasalle as they ARE focused squarely on athletics, i.e., see their non-academic facilities.

All this said, the following UDJ grads are leaders in the athletic arena:

For everyones information: Stevens, Mann and Donnelly all have D1, D2 and D3 coaching experience. Plus Donnelly has been a scout for NBA teams and obviously has top level high school experience. UDM can’t go wrong with any of these candidates. And in regards to Stevens, please try not to let the press bias your opinion of him. He is a true class act and UDM would be lucky to have him as their head coach. He has handled his job as a true professional and with the utmost integrity. I know that every top D1 coach in the country would say that Stevens, Mann and Donnelly would be outstanding choices as the new head coach at UDM.

bctitans1987 wrote:Up - Please don't write about Pat "recruiting". You obviously know zero about UDJ. If you did, you would know that as AD at UDJ, Mickey Barrett got FIRED for athletic recruiting.

Let’s not be naive here...PD is the Director of Admissions at the High and UDJ now has “leadership” scholarships like those that Country Day use to give out. Great academic school but definitely recruiting going on.

bctitans1987 wrote:Up - Please don't write about Pat "recruiting". You obviously know zero about UDJ. If you did, you would know that as AD at UDJ, Mickey Barrett got FIRED for athletic recruiting.

Cassius Winston was not recruited. His parents wanted to send him to one of (if not) the best school in the area (nothing against the other private schools). Cassius and his two brothers are excellent students.

UofD Jesuit is focused on academics. If that wasn't the case, they would not have spent $20M on a science and technology wing. Go see it. UDM has NOTHING even close to the four-story beauty that UDJ built. Let's not get started on Brother Rice, CC and DeLasalle as they ARE focused squarely on athletics, i.e., see their non-academic facilities.

All this said, the following UDJ grads are leaders in the athletic arena:

bctitans1987 wrote:Up - Please don't write about Pat "recruiting". You obviously know zero about UDJ. If you did, you would know that as AD at UDJ, Mickey Barrett got FIRED for athletic recruiting.

Cassius Winston was not recruited. His parents wanted to send him to one of (if not) the best school in the area (nothing against the other private schools). Cassius and his two brothers are excellent students.

UofD Jesuit is focused on academics. If that wasn't the case, they would not have spent $20M on a science and technology wing. Go see it. UDM has NOTHING even close to the four-story beauty that UDJ built. Let's not get started on Brother Rice, CC and DeLasalle as they ARE focused squarely on athletics, i.e., see their non-academic facilities.

All this said, the following UDJ grads are leaders in the athletic arena:

87 I am already mad at myself for even getting into a discussion with someone who knows absolutely nothing about what what he posts and even less about his so called Alma Mater. I do not know what a Science and Technology Wing has to do with Donnelly's coaching ability or recruiting.I know for a fact that UDJ does recruit and does waive tuition for certain athletes and I do not have a problem with that and I unimpressed with Donnelly's coaching ability. I believe UDJ should be able to spend their money as they wish. Your defending this and past statements about the UD men's program shows how little you really know about what you are spouting off about. There is no need for you to even answer as I am placing you with 96.

ptctitan wrote:I would rather take more time and make a good hire than rush to another questionable decision.

Exactly. This is an important decision. Sometimes these things take time. If Vowels had asked a few more questions about BA around campus and among former players and administrators I doubt he would have gotten hired . . . but he looked good on paper. Lets get the right person, not someone who looks good on paper or just a name we all know.

UP, you are the one who brought up the “recruiting” at UofD, so please stop your moronic claims. Just so you know, it costs $12k for a kid to go to UofD. Yes, the school offers numerous scholarships to athletes and non-athletes to attend the school. There aren't many families out there who can afford to send their son to UofD, so what’s your point? Also, what does that have to do with the coach and his ability to lead one of the most successful programs in the state over the past 10 years? Plus, you clearly don't know anything about coaching. Remember, you are the sole JJSr fan, and he clearly can’t coach.

ptctitan wrote:Every time I consider hiring a successful high school coach from a very successful, all-male, Catholic high school program, two words come to mind: Gerry Faust.

When I think of high school basketball coaches who went on to be successful college coaches names like Tom Izzo, Bobby Knight and Perry Watson come to mind. I do not generally think of Jerry Faust. But maybe I think differently than you PTC.